Town of Two Women (9781101612125) by J.r. Roberts

was true, it didn’t matter who the other men were.
    â€œSo how much time do you think I have?” he asked Max.
    â€œFor what?”
    â€œBefore Locksley sends some of those hands against me, and I have to kill them.”
    â€œThis time,” Max said, “I think he may have some trouble convincing people. He’s probably gonna have to hire some guns.”
    Clint nodded. He actually would feel better killing gunmen than citizens of the town doing what they were told to do by Locksley and his wife.
    â€œYou’ve been a big help, Max,” he said.
    â€œI’m a big help in here,” Max said, “but I’m a useless shell out there.”
    â€œNone of the hands putting that girl on the horse were yours?”
    â€œAll I do with my hands,” Max said, “is pour drinks.”
    Clint finished his beer, set the mug down, and said, “Keep pouring drinks, Max.”

EIGHTEEN
    Clint left the Dry Wash and walked to City Hall. He found Gina Hopewell waiting for him outside. She was wearing a dress that was fancier than the one she’d had on that morning.
    â€œI’m not late, am I?” Clint asked.
    â€œNot at all,” she said. “I actually left early, went home, and changed for supper.”
    â€œYou look very pretty.”
    â€œThank you.”
    â€œDo you have a place picked out?” he asked.
    â€œOh, yes,” she said. “It’s right near here.”
    â€œGood,” he said. “Let’s go.”
    They started walking, and Clint noticed that Gina appeared a little nervous.
    â€œDid you meet me out front so we wouldn’t run into your boss?” Clint asked.
    â€œWell . . .”
    â€œThat’s okay,” he said. “I understand. There’s no point in looking for trouble if you can avoid it.”
    â€œI hope you’re not angry.”
    â€œNot at all,” Clint said. “Just take me to some good food.”
    â€œYou won’t be disappointed,” she promised.
    *   *   *
    He wasn’t disappointed. She took him to a small restaurant on a side street, and if the food wasn’t so good, he might have thought she was still trying to hide them from her boss.
    â€œDo you want to ask more questions about Mr. Locksley?” she asked while they ate.
    â€œWell, I’ve actually found out more than I need to know today,” he said, “so no, I don’t need to talk about him. I’d rather talk about you.”
    They spent half an hour talking about how she came to be in Heathstead, and how she got the job working for Eric Locksley. And as they talked, Clint did think of some other questions he could ask about Locksley.
    â€œI know I said I had no questions,” he said to her over dessert, “but I have a few.”
    â€œThat’s all right,” she said. “Go ahead and ask.”
    â€œWhat do you know about the girl, Mary Connelly, and Locksley’s son, Jack?”
    â€œYou mean about their relationship?”
    â€œI mean about whether they were going to be married or not.”
    Gina looked around, but there was nobody sitting near them. She lowered her voice anyway.
    â€œJack and Mary were never going to get married,” she said. “Jack thought they were, but she wasn’t in love with the boy.”
    â€œIs that the truth?”
    â€œBelieve me,” she said. “That girl was after somebody else.”
    â€œDo you know who?”
    â€œActually,” Gina said, “I don’t. I just know she had no feelings for Jack.”
    â€œDid Locksley know this?”
    â€œI think he did.”
    â€œAnd his wife?”
    â€œThat woman,” Gina said, “seems to know everything.”
    â€œSo when she sent her son away, and had Mary ridden out of town, she knew it wasn’t about them.”
    â€œRight.”
    â€œThen why did she do it?”
    â€œI told you this morning,” Gina